Menu

Research Paper Ideas to Impress Your Professor

One of the criterion a teacher sticks to in order to evaluate your research papers is the way it is written, namely the manner of expression produced by the authorâ€™s choice of words, grammatical structures, use of literary devices, and all the possible parts of language use. All together, the teacher evaluates your writing style.

Therefore, if you are aiming at high grades and a distinguish research paper, you should pay special attention to the layout of your research paper ideas in the first place.

First of all, you should remember that a research paper is a formal paper. Thus, you should obey all the principles of formal writing that include:

1. Sophisticated vocabulary;

2. Impersonal tone;

3. More frequent use of passive voice;

4. Complex sentence constructions;

5. Formal linking devices;

6. Punctuation;

7. Overall presentation.

Letâ€™s look at these points one by one, so that you can ensure that your research paper meets the requirements of the formal writing.

1. Sophisticated Vocabulary

Sophisticated vocabulary is a must while writing a research paper. The use of thoughtful words will definitely impress the reader with your creativity, intelligence, and intimate knowledge of the research paper topic.

However, you should not overuse sophisticated vocabulary and put worldly words where they do not belong. Try to find the golden mean between the extremes and replace advanced vocabulary with commonly-used words when necessary.

Surely, in your research paper you will want to use some unusual terms or references that are not familiar to the general audience. Your desire to give your research paper a scientific flair is always welcome. However, be sure to define or explain the terms you use, even though you know that the teacher is familiar with them.

And stick to the golden rule of writing a research paper, namely make sure there is not a single contraction in your research paper.

2. Impersonal Tone

It is important that your research paper has no references to yourself, such as “I think…” or “It is my conclusion that…” You should avoid such expressions and replace them with neutral expressions by means of infinitive, or the passive voice. It is one of the key points of successful research paper writing.

3. More Frequent Use of Passive Voice

The passive voice of written research papers is effective in creating a sense of objectivity, such as focusing attention on the thing acted upon. It is also useful when the subject acted upon is unknown or unimportant, or if you want to use long modifiers at the end of the sentence.

But beware, and eliminate the passive voice where active should be placed. The enduring use of passive voice obscures the meaning and makes for boring reading. A natural symbiosis of the passive and active voices can work miracles.

4. Sentence Construction

Make sure you vary sentence length and structure. Let various sentence constructions take place in your research paper: simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, complex-compound sentences.

In formal writing of research papers complex grammatical constructions are preferable. However, do not get caught into an endless loop of complex sentence structures and bring in your research paper simple sentences from time to time.

5. Formal Linking Devices

It is necessary to vary linking devices in your research paper. Instead of putting â€œfor exampleâ€ all the time, you can use â€œfor instanceâ€,â€ in particularâ€,â€ especiallyâ€. To express the effect you can vary the expressions like thus, therefore, as a result, consequently, so, as a consequence and so on.

If you face problems with finding synonyms, do not be lazy to go to a library and look up the words in a dictionary. Your efforts will be awarded hundred times, for the variety of linking devices guarantees a smooth flow of speech and a desired effect on the reader.

6. Punctuation

Every single writer should use punctuation in a wise manner to achieve the intended effect. Punctuation that is purely used can confuse the reader and leave him with no clear idea of what your research paper topic was all about.

Thus, keep the following punctuation caveats in mind: a period shows a full separation of ideas; comma and coordinating conjunction show such relationships as: addition, choice, consequence, contrast, or cause; a semicolon reveals that the second sentence completes the idea that was started in the first sentence.

Once you check your research paper for punctuation, the lionâ€™s share of research paper writing is completed.

7. Overall presentation.

The overall presentation of a research paper counts greatly while evaluation; it has the power either to win the readerâ€™s favor, or turn him down.

So, make sure your reader will be delighted at the sight of your research paper and make your research paper look properly. It means that, as a formal piece of writing, your research paper should not be brightly-colored or written in some funny font. Formal writing requires simplicity and accuracy.

Neatly laid out research paper ideas have all chances to be approved by your teacher.

By following the general principles of sentence construction, punctuation, and vocabulary use, you will be able to create a positive image of yourself as a bright, eloquent, and keen person, the one who is worth getting an excellent grade for their breath-taking research paper.

Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.CustomResearchPapers.us/ with over 5 years of research paper writing experience and more than 500 custom research papers and essays behind her back. For more information, please, visit Linda’s web log at http://custom-research-papers.blogspot.com/

Post navigation

4 thoughts on “Research Paper Ideas to Impress Your Professor”

I fully agree on most points, especially on varing the use of complex vs. simple sentence structure. On occasion, two to five word sentences can be very effective. Use these with caution.

However, I must disagree (slightly) on three points: use of contractions, active vs. pasive voice, and punctuation.

As demonstrated, “vs.” is clearly read while “versus” is harder to type and less clear. likewise: “etc.” compared to “et cetera.” Contractions should be used with great care, but are sometimes to be preferred.

Active voice, I have found, is very useful if used judiciously. It should be reserved primarily for drawing conclusions that might not be obvious.

I strongly feel that punctuation should be used in its purest form. Any abuse might be seen as a misunderstanding of the correct usage, and can be interpreted as poor scholarship. As a general rule, if you feel you are using too much punctuation in any given instance, reconstruct the wording and/or split the sentence.

A further caveat: always check spelling (I found two spelling errors in this post. please forgive my anal-retentive habits).